Tales from the BattleTram
by Nintendo Nut1
Summary: A collection of random Aquabats drabbles, based on inspiration and suggested prompts. Nothing romantic, but tons of fluff and cuteness abounds
1. Baby

"I'm almost done, Commander. Just a few more stitches…"

"Ugghhh come _oooooon._" If he had known asking the robot what he was working on would be such a loaded question, he would've went on his merry way. He would've ignored Jimmy's delighted humming of an uncreative, repetitive tone; the fact that he was attempting meant he was in a seriously good mood. Curiosity was piqued, and peeking in to see robotics hands at work with tools not of the very un-scientific nature sealed the deal.

At first intrigued, the team leader was only indignant now, slouching on a tiny lab stool waiting for Jimmy to be finished. He just hoped none of the others came in to add to his humiliation.

"I still don't get why you won't ask Ricky," he bickered. "He's the baby of the team."

"Perhaps," Jimmy shrugged, the only break in his intense concentration. "But you fit the proportions better."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You have the chubby cheeks for it."

The Commander huffed in disbelief. He crossed his arms, turned away, and curled up into a tight ball of stubbornness. "I'm not doing it."

"But… Commander!" He fiercely looked away, not willing to see the genuinely distressed blanch Jimmy was giving him. "You promised!"

"Hmph~!" He remained adamant. He was not giving in this time! The robot needed to learn his boundaries!

There was a tense silence, which confused the Commander, who expected Jimmy to press the issue. Against all of his better judgment, he gradually turned back. The robot's electric blue eyes were downcast, gazing forlornly over his handiwork. His downtrodden expression, so stark different from his earlier bubbly demeanor, made the Commander's resolve crumble almost instantly.

Sighing loudly as if the most put-upon person in the world, he finally grumbled, "_Fine._"

He wouldn't admit it, but seeing Jimmy's face light up made him feel good. Eagerly, the robot lifted up the finished product in preparation. "Excellent! Thank you, Commander! Are you ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get it over with already!" He scrunched his eyes shut tight, bracing himself. Swiftly, yet gently, the starched fabric slid up and around, behind his ears, and tied up under his chin.

When metallic hands drew back, he creaked his eyes open to behold Jimmy's fond smile. He ruffled the pastel-colored bonnet a bit before its folds had settled in a manner he deemed acceptable.

"Perfect," he concluded, his smile growing. "Jimmy Jr. is going to love it…. whenever I find him."

"Jimmy who?"


	2. Feeding the Birds

"Dude, don't worry, it's super easy." Eaglebones handed Jimmy the brown paper bag, reaching in and pulling out a handful of wild birdseed. "You just grab some feed—whop!" His other hand swept under to catch whatever bits of grain fell from between his fingers. "Careful not to drop any too early—then you make sure they settle down and gather together before—!"

He cast the feed in a wide arc before them, and the swarm of tiny birds hopping at their feet were instantly pecking away in between the cobblestones.

"And that's all there is to it!" Eaglebones concluded his lesson, glancing over at Jimmy, who was watching the pigeons below him eat with child-like awe. Only when the guitarist took the bag back into his hands did his trance break, and he looked down to see the open end being offered to him.

"Give it a try!"

Jimmy met that lopsided grin with his own and nodded. He did exactly as Eaglebones had instructed and demonstrated, each motion deliberate and calculated; the feed landed on the ground all the same, but Jimmy was just too terribly pleased with himself for his fellow bandmate to say anything.

He opted instead to watch the robot observe the birds with unbridled fondness; the dreamy, somewhat doleful smile made it clear what he was thinking of. Even if that freak of a monster was a huge hassle to deal with, it was clear that Jimmy Jr. meant a lot to him.

An idea came to him; Jimmy Jr. might've been long gone, but he could always do the next best thing. While the robot was distracted, Eaglebones knelt down and selected a small group of pigeons, varied in spots and colors, and quietly addressed them in a sequence of coos and tweets.

"…Eaglebones?"

He turned back, abruptly answering with a strange face and a questioning coo before noticing Jimmy's look of confusion. Recomposing himself, he hopped back up to his feet and patted the robot's arm. "Relaxing, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes," Jimmy replied, ignoring the spectacle Eaglebones had made of himself and turning back down to the birds. "Quite relaxing."

"Here, give it another go," Eaglebones offered again.

"Ah, alright." Once more, Jimmy reached into the bag and pulled out another clump of birdseed. He was careful to keep the gaps between the metallic plates of his hand closed, so the grains nestled neatly in his palm like a small bowl.

He was about to turn and cast it to the ground again, but halfway through the initial movement, he froze with a small gasp. Three pigeons had landed across his wrists and fingers and quickly began to enjoy their bounty.

Jimmy glanced up at Eaglebones with a gape, and got a sincere, lopsided smile in return.


	3. Fort Cheeseburger

"Bring the last one over, Crash!"

Crash shifted the huge mattress in his arms until it was bent over the crest of his helmeted head. He grunted as he discovered this obstructed his view, but he managed to lift it back up and spot the Commander waving him down into a dusty corner of the BattleTram. He ducked back down as Crash bumbled closer, stepping over the wall of pillows into the middle of the circle his teammates had huddled into, grinning up at him expectantly.

"One special deluxe mattress fort roof, coming up!" he bellowed, then tossed it into the air and dived down. There came a collective series of screams and laughs as it safely plopped down on the makeshift fort's frame, leaving the Aquabats in their own cramped, dimly-lit world of imagination.

The Commander busied himself with poking Eaglebones in the side, earning a few grunts and kicks, before he turned up and was startled by Jimmy's glowing blue eyes as his means of adapting to the dark.

"So, then, my liege," the robot, who was learning and rapidly perfecting the art of roleplay, spoke in an outlandishly dramatic voice. "What is our first order of business in Fort—"

"Cheeseburger!" Crash eagerly christened their new structure. The others looked at each other, and no one protested.

"Very well, FortCheeseburger," Jimmy nodded, grinning at the scattered laughter. "So?"

The Commander cleared his throat and pursed his lips, looking as regal as he could nestled between two bean bag chairs like a throne. "Well, Duke Jamie, as we all know, no fort is complete without a flag. Am I right?"

A resounding "YESSIR!" cycled around.

"Very well, then! Squire Crash, if you so please?"

"Right!" A clatter and crinkling of watercolor paints and paper scattered into the middle of the circle. Crash squat down, wetting a huge brush as the others gathered around to watch and give their input.

"Comman—I mean, my liege!" Ricky piped up. "Permission to offer a suggestion?"

"Granted, young Page Richard."

"I say our flag should have the tastiest-looking burger in the world on it!"

"A most excellent suggestion! Make it so, Squire!"

"Yessir!" Crash went right to work, spreading thick lines of color across the page. He started with the bottom bun, then the meat patty, and then his brush froze. A moment of silent anticipation followed.

"…why do you hesitate, Squire?"

"What do I put on the burger?"

It shifted to a silence in aghast as everyone traded glances.

"…Well…" Eaglebones eventually spoke up. "Cheese, for starters."

"…Yes, a good starting place as any," the Commander coughed, nodding with the others in agreement. "Good work, Sir Eaglebones."

Crash painted a thin line of yellow. "What else?"

"Lettuce and tomato, duh!" Ricky replied eagerly. "Pickles too!"

"Alright, alright, settle down now, let the man work—"

"And horseradish!"

"Whoa whoa _whoa_, there, friend!" The Commander sat up, bumping his head on the fort's ceiling. "You weren't serious just now, were you?"

"The burger has to be as healthy as it is delicious!" Ricky huffed.

"Who on this planet puts horseradish on a perfectly good burger!?"

"I humbly suggest we add another meat patty and make it a double cheeseburger," Jimmy proclaimed boldly. "That will provide more than enough nutrients!"

"Great, then people won't be able to fit it in their mouth!" Ricky protested.

"Would asking for a sesame seed bun be out of the question?" Eaglebones offered.

"_Yes it would_," the Commander growled between gritted teeth.

"Hey, what've _you_ got against sesame seeds!?"

"_Everything_, including _your face and your butt!_"

Crash gradually glanced up from his halfway-finished painting to behold the fighting going on around him. Jimmy and Ricky were locked in a verbal debate, but Eaglebones and the Commander were locked in the closest thing to mortal combat, tackling and tumbling and catching each other with flailing fists and half nelsons.

Bewildered and intimidated, Crash could only meekly get out, "G-guys? Guys, I can put all that stuff on the burger, it's fine really…"

He was about to lean back down to do so, but a black blotch he didn't remember painting immediately caught his eye. His heart skipped a beat, eyes popping.

"S…_**SPIDER!**_" he wailed, forgetting where he was and leaping up in alarm. The force of his jump had easily thrown the mattress roof clean off, and the disturbance caused the other mattresses and pillows to come tumbling down around them.

The fighting gradually died down as the sudden brightness brought them back to reality, and they squinted around to assess the damage. Some of the pillows had dabbled into the paint, and other palettes had been dragged across the paper, smearing their potentially delicious flag in muddy colors.

Normally, this would be of little consequence, but the Commander knew better. Releasing the clump of Eaglebones' hair he had been pulling at, he slowly turned to face Crash, who already had the hinting of tears in his eyes.

"H, hey now, buddy," he soothed cautiously. If things were to 'get emotional,' then they'd all be in a whole world of trouble. "It's alright. We can fix it. Easy, big fella… come on, quit with the trembling lip, no one likes to see that…!"

As much as he was trying, the Commander's method wasn't working; Crash was ready to burst into tears, grow in size, and wreck the tram. The others exchanged swift glances.

Then, Jimmy leaped from within the mountain of pillows, crying out in the most over-the-top way possible, "_ALAS!_ Our once-impenetrable fortress has been overtaken by _massive spider beasts!"_

A pause.

"…o…_oh no!_" Ricky caterwauled, dramatically falling over and gurgling as if succumbing to the spider's venom.

"Our greatest foes!" Eaglebones lamented, hands raised to the sky. "How could this happen!?"

"Easy, my men… with all of us fighting amongst ourselves, it's no wonder they got in," said the Commander solemnly, but he patted Crash on the back. "We're lucky the Squire alerted us of their presence! We may still have a chance to fight them off!"

A grin started to blossom on Crash's face in realization. "I… I did my best, sir!"

"Keep it up!" the Commander encouraged as they all grabbed pillows and began swatting at imaginary monsters. "You focus on rebuilding the fort, we'll fight off the beasts!"

"_YESSIR!_" Crash dashed across the room to grab the huge roof mattress, glancing back to watch the show his best friends in the whole wide world put on.

"Hold the front line, young Richard!"

"Watch your back, Duke! I've got you covered!"

"Ackdjfdks! _Commander!_ Do I look like a spider beast to you!?"

"_I can't run that risk, Sir Eaglebones!_"

After a frenzy of flying cotton and feathers, the battle was won, and a war-torn flag was flown triumphantly above Fort Cheeseburger.


	4. Fairies

_Somewhere... deep in an ancient forest..._

The night air was very still, the echoes of crickets and bullfrogs far away from their set path. Which was off the beaten path to begin with; Ricky wasn't sure where they were going, but he trusted Eaglebones well enough and followed his lead.

They were in Stealth mode, their violet rashguards blending better in the dark landscape. Eaglebones had stressed the importance of silence on this journey, and Ricky did his best, even as they weaved between trees and shuffled across plush carpets of clovers.

But his excitement was growing the deeper they got in, and with this came a slight clumsiness that almost made him run into his bandmate when he stopped suddenly.

Ricky waited with baited breath as Eaglebones peered through the misty forest, searching, eyes sharp as flint. The cautious air shared between the two of them was rapidly growing thin, and the younger Aquabat could only wait in silence for so long.

"...Are we clo-"

"_Shht!_" Eaglebones was quick to hush even a whisper, snapping a finger to Ricky's lips without breaking concentration.

Eventually, he pulled back and pointed towards a break in between two trees with crisscrossing trunks at the base. He crept forward, peeking out from behind one of the trees, and gestured for Ricky to join his side, behind the other.

From there, they had a perfect view of a clearing fenced in by thick trees and bushes, bathed in silver moonlight. And in the center...

"Is that-?" Ricky caught the guitarist's wanring glance, cringed, and lowered his voice. "Is that a real fairy ring, Eaglebones...?"

A slow nod. "Yep."

"When are they gonna come out?"

"Whenever they feel like." He watched Ricky's face sour as the prospect of more waiting. "Hey, man, patience is a virtue."

"Yeah, yeah..."

They descended back into silence as they watched the ring of fungi closely for some time. Unsure of what to expect, Ricky jumped at several false alarms of gentle cross breezes and shifts in lighting.

But as antsy as he was getting, it was late in the night, and he was growing weary. He let Eaglebones keep watch, leaned over his tree with drooping eyelids; just as he was about to dose off, however, his friend grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down into hiding, barely covering a slight yelp of surprise.

Back on alert, Ricky glanced over as Eaglebones, eyes wide in the darkness, brought a finger to his own lips as a reminder, and cocked his head up, and the two of them rose slowly to glance out their viewing portal into the meadow.

Ricky took in the slightest intake of air in a gasp before swiftly covering his mouth as he watched soft points of ochre light flitter down into the ring. Gathering together, they floated about in lazy patterns, swaying to and fro and twirling in circles about each other. He wasn't sure if his ears were tricking him or not, but he could have sworn he heard soft little giggles, and even an airy, whimsical song.

"I...w-wa...whoa...!" Ricky squeaked out in utter awe. "It's... wow, is it really-are they-o-oh man-!" For a brief moment he gave it second thought and wondered if they were just fireflies, but when one of them swooped down and grazed the grass, a tiny little toadstool popped out of the ground, dashing away all doubt.

Eaglebones would occasionally glance back and forth between the spectacle and his friend, marveling the glee and wonder that played across his face, before focusing on the fairies' dance itself. It was a rare sight to behold, after all!

He wore his own crooked smile of delight at the scene, bobbing his head to the tune his ears were able to hear better, but he faltered as a heavy shadow moved in. Glancing to his side, he did a double take as he realized his bandmate had disappeared. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together.

"Wait-Ricky waitwait_wait_-!" he hissed, leaping out from his hiding spot, only for everything to freeze. The points of light became fixed into place, and the songs stopped.

After a moment of tense silence, Ricky ventured a step forward, nothing but humility reflected in his posture. With a soft gulp, he managed a shy smile, and held out his hands.

Eaglebones' darted his eyes between Ricky and the cloud of fairies, now the one waiting with baited breath. He never thought of approaching the usually mischievous little spirits in such a forward manner. Anything could happen.

So it came as an honest surprise to him when one of the ethereal creatures floated over and landed gently in Ricky's open palms. The soft light danced across his awe-struck features as a figure shimmered and revealed itself, giggling and shyly adjusting its hair and leafy dress.

"Whoa... hey there!" Ricky greeted, to which it waved back. He flashed a metallic grin up to his friend. "Dude, Eaglebones. You didn't tell me they were gonna be this_ cute_."


	5. A Date in the Underworld

"I still think this is a_ terrible_ idea."

"Yet you're still makin' the portal." A blue-splattered brush froze, and Eaglebones turned up an unamused glower in response to Ricky's coy grin.

The guitarist shook his head, hastily scribbling the last of the runes before standing up and jabbing a finger in the drummer's chest. "You owe me big time for this, I hope you know that."

"Yeah, totally!"

"It was hard enough getting the rest of the team out of here," Eaglebones grumbled as he grabbed his spellbook and thumbed through the pages.

"Dude, it's Free Pizza and Slushis Day at GasTown. They're gonna be there all day."

His glare worsened. "_Not to mention_ we'll be lucky if we pull this off without getting chewed up or burnt to crisps or-"

"_Dude_." He cringed, looking up to meet Ricky's sincere stare. "I get it, okay? I know this is a big risk."

His gaze dropped. "... I just miss her a whole lot."

Eaglebones sighed; it was really hard to stay mad as such a despondent display. Awkwardly, he patted Ricky's shoulder in reassurance. "I know. Just, step back, alright?"

Ricky nodded and stepped out of the painted circle, waiting obediently as Eaglebones located the spell and began to chant powerful incantations of an olden tongue. One by one the runes lit up, and the columns of blue light curved and met in the center, tearing a hole through reality. Soon, a full-sized portal opened before them, rippling and humming menacingly.

Satisfied, Eaglebones snapped the book shut and stuffed it away in his pack; they'd need it later for their return trip. He then met Ricky's nervous look with a crooked grin, adjusting his guitar strap. Always good to be prepared for anything.

"Well? Come on, man, she's waiting."

The heat of the Underworld hit them before they even stepped out of the portal, which closed behind them. This worried Eaglebones slighty, but the concern was dashed for now at a pair of high-pitched squeals.

"Ricky! You came!"

"Babe! Of course I did!" The two young lovers dashed across hot bedrock and met in a big giggly embrace, the siren lifting Ricky clear off his feet and spinning him around.

"I missed you soooooo muuuuuuch~!" Quera cooed, squeezing him tight into the plush folds of her winter coat.

"Geeeeeeez, you too!" He pulled back slightly and gave her a huge grin. "Sorry it took so long, it sure isn't easy to get here!"

"Right? But still, I'm so glad you made it!" She began to falter as they pulled back, still holding hands, and she nervously weaved her fingers through Ricky's. "But… now that you're here… I-I don't know what we should do! I've never been on a date before…" Her face scrunched in frustration, baring sharp teeth. "_Ooooh!_ I'm sorry, Ricky, I'm the worst…!"

"Hey, hey, no, shhh…" He brought a hand up to her chin and directed her meek gaze back up to his. "Quera, baby, it's okay. Just relax, we'll have loads of fun!" He gave it thought, then beamed, "Why don't we start by you showing me around the Underworld!"

She brightened up and eagerly nodded. "Okay!"

They bobbed a little dance together in delight, still holding hands and squealing sweetly, when they both gradually noticed their third wheel. As they stared at him, Eaglebones cleared his throat and raised his hands in defense. "Don't mind me, kids, I'm just the chaperone."

Quera blinked politely. "Oh. Is he coming with us?"

Sheepishly, Ricky rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Yyyyyeah, he's kinda my ride here, technically." Eaglebones awkwardly shrugged as well.

"Oh…" Quera seemed to understand, but her jacket began to rustle and quiver. Grunting, she gave Ricky a self-conscious frown before hurrying to adjust the protesting coat. Both Aquabats recoiled a bit as the other two heads of the siren snaked out from the bottom, hissing in greeting.

Trying to mask her humiliation, Quera feigned a smile. "R-Ricky, you know my sisters, Hera and Vera…"

"Uh, yeah!" He waved to them vigorously. "G-good to see ya!"

Acknowledging him only with a sneer, Vera spoke to her sister, "Don't worry your pretty little head, Quera. We promised we'd leave you and your darling alone, and we intent to keep to it."

The grinned shark-tooth smirks at each other, and in one swift movement jerked their heads towards the other 'Bat. Eyes wide in panic, Eaglebones went rigid as they swept up either side of him with ghastly giggles.

"Meanwhile, we can keep the skinny one entertained!" Hera snickered, nuzzling her moley cheek against his. Trapped between the two, Eaglebones grimaced and groaned, sparking more cackles.

"Ohhh. Hey, that, that's great!" Ricky pretended he didn't catch the silent 'help me' Eaglebones mouthed out and turned back to Quera, tugging at his collar. "Uh, so! You guys got any place to get refreshments? I'm kinda roasting here, haha."

Eagerly, Quera nodded. "Oh, yeah! I know where we can get some Slushis!"

"Shut _up!_ You have Slushis down here too?"

"Yeah! You wanna go get some, Ricky?"

"Heck yeah I do!"

In little time, the young couple found themselves at a tiny table for two, typical of an outdoor eatery, minus the fire and brimstone. Ricky slurped up a generous helping of his fishy drink, breaking away from the straw with a satisfied sigh.

"Ahhh, that hit the spot!" He grinned at Quera, who sipped hers more modestly. "Man, when you said this place was hot, you weren't kidding!"

"Ahaha, yeah…"

"_And_ you wear a huge coat? Dude, Quera, that is so hardcore."

"I-it is ? Ahhh, heehee!"

"So…" Ricky noticed her hand on the stony table and slid his over to cover it gently. "What've you been up to?"

Quera blushed at the contact, twirling a finger through her pigtail. "Oh, you know… the kinda things sirens do…"

The moment was interrupted by a soft, alluring song nearby. Without even needing to look over first, Quera scowled in inward annoyance.

"Sorry, Ricky, hold on a second…"

"Sure, babe."

Exasperated, she turned in her chair and called out, "Sisters. _Please_ don't eat Ricky's friend."

Caught in the act, they froze. Hera clamped up her mouth as a hypnotized Eaglebones swayed underneath her, listless under her spell, while Vera's wide-open chompers were inches away from his neck.

"Ehhh—we weren't!" she insisted as she pulled back, the two of them straightening up and feigning innocence. Their spell slowly wore off, and Eaglebones blinked back into hazy awareness. "We were just… sharing songs! That's all~!"

At Quera's pout, Hera huffed, "Well if we can't _eat_ him, can we at least _play_ with him?!"

"Aw, sure you can!" Rick waved them off. "Eaglebones loves to horse around!"

Catching his name, the guitarist turned up blearily, "I love to what now?" He was answered by the two siren sisters descending upon him with screams and hisses. "_UwoooAAAAGGGH!_"

Ricky openly laughed at the spectacle, watching his bandmate flee in terror and swat them away. When Quera softly cleared her throat, however, he swiftly turned back.

"What about you, Ricky?" she broke the ice this time. "I know you go on lots of exciting adventures!"

"Oh! Psht, yeah, totally!"

"I heard…" She leaned over the table, eyes wide with enthusiasm. "…that a great monster from space invaded, and that you guys fought him and saved the world!"

"Duuuuuuude, _yes!_" Space Monster M! Aw man, that fight was gnarly! Our toughest one yet!"

"What happened? Tell me _every_thing, Ricky!"

And he did so, perched atop his chair as he recounted every dramatic detail with a booming voice and wild hand gestures. Meanwhile, the fight currently going on behind them was quickly escalating, and the shouts and screams and punches and swoops only enhanced Ricky's storytelling.

"And then, he was firing his lasers like-!" At the same time he mimicked the movements of laser fingers, the crackle of lightning from Eaglebones' guitar roared in the distance. Ricky was only phased when the lightning struck a sulfur crater and created an impressive explosion, sending everyone in the immediate area reeling.

When the rain of rubble ceased and he recovered, Ricky leapt up and cheered, pumping his fists in the air. "_Yeah!_ Just like that!"

At a series of shrieks from deep inside the hole, Quera tugged at her boyfriend's arm. "Mmmmmaybe we should go check out _other_ areas if the Underworld now…!"

"Heh, yeah. Right on!" As they climbed out of the debris, Ricky linked their arms and gestured like a gentleman, "After you~!"

He was pleased as punch at her giggly response as she took lead, but was almost torn away when Eaglebones latched to his other side. "Woah! Oh, hey! Eaglebones, how you… doing?"

The guitarist said nothing, but his incensed glare and mussed hair and slightly singed clothes communicated well enough 'how he was doing.'

"Uh… great!" Even then Ricky could only reply with a hasty grin and a rough pat on the back (getting a cough of sulfur dust out of him in the process), turning all of his attention back to his girlfriend. Eaglebones sighed gruffly, swatting at the two sisters, who found the entire situation absolutely hilarious and were intent on showing it by cackling endlessly behind him.

This changed little as they continued their tour. In the dark corridors of the Labyrinth, the couple had wonderful fun darting through tunnels and playing Hide and Seek; Eaglebones was more or less chased down the same path behind them, but was led to considerably more terrible beasts until practically the entire fleet of the maze's guardians were on their tail. When they all reached the end, he barley managed to seal the exit behind them in time. The young lovers couldn't for the life of them figure out why he was so winded, and the sisters claimed not to have a clue either.

Then at the Dark Pits, the pair enjoyed the view of the deepest underground crevasse Ricky had ever seen.

"Whoa… these are even bigger than the Grand Canyon!"

"I know! Isn't it gorgeous?"

Going unnoticed, Eaglebones was getting a considerably closer view as the sister used their stretchy necks to dangle him over the edge and toss him about through the air precariously.

"Not a—"

"**_AAAAAAUUGGHHH—_**"

"WHAT?"

"**_—HHHHAHAAAAAA—_**"

"I SAID NOT AS GORGEOUS AS YOU, BABE!"

"AWWWW, RICKY~!"

"—**_AAAAHHHHHH!_**"

Finally, they sat at the edge of a great Fire Fountain, sharing sweet terms of endearment and gentle, quiet stares. All commotion around them was lost in the moment as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes, watching the intense light of flickering flames dance across their slightly sweaty faces.

After some time, they leaned in for a kiss. They got as far as a very chaste pressing of lips together before…

"_Ricky_," came a heavy growl beside him.

"Mmm… what?"

"We have to go. Now."

"Aw _what!?_ Are you kidding me?!"

Quera cowered first, and Ricky turned to insist otherwise, but yelped at the ancient mummy that towered over them, holding up a battle-damaged Eaglebones by the scruff of his tattered rashguard.

"Yeah. _Now._"

After a minor hassle and some rough handling, the two Aquabats were cast back into the mortal realm. Upon their (somewhat) safe return, Ricky, who knew what was good for him, immediately grabbed his laptop and retreated to a quiet part of the BattleTram. Best to let the dust between him and his irate friend settle.

He had just gotten comfortable when he floundered as a pile of singed clothing was tossed at his face. "Ackppbbtpt! What the heck man!?"

"Had a _rad time_ explaining that to Jimmy," Eaglebones griped harshly, currently wearing his pajamas instead. "Told him my guitar malfunctioned. _That's_ busted too."

Ricky grew dejected, not willing to look his bandmate in the eye. His crossed arms told him well enough how upset he was with him.

"…we're not going back to the Underworld, are we…?"

"Not for a _while_."

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Heh, yeah… thought so."

"_Is that Eaglebones?_" the sweet voice of his girlfriend crackled from the laptop's speaker. "_Oh no, he sounds mad…_"

He faltered his stance a bit, not expecting them to still be video chatting at this hour. Ricky nodded in response, finally giving him a guilty look.

Man, he could never deal with that kind of look. Sighing, Eaglebones loosened up and gestured for the drummer to scoot over so he could sit down beside him and address Quera. "Well… yeah, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little mad."

"_Gosh, I'm really sorry my sisters were such bullies to you_," she apologized, averting her gaze. "_…and I probably should've mentioned the guardians don't really like when mortals sneak into the Underworld…_"

"Yeah, that would've been good to know earlier. Might've prevented your date from getting cut short."

"_Ehe… y-yeah…_" The couple shared expression of crestfallen embarrassment.

"…Look, I'm not mad at _you_, okay?" Eaglebones shifting into a more reassuring tone. "I mean, it could've turned out way worse. Did you guys have fun, at least?"

"O-oh! Yeah!"

"_Totally! I had such a wonderful time with you, Ricky!_"

"You too, babe!"

Eaglebones nodded with a half smirk. "Well then you know what, that's what really matters." He roughly patted and squeezed Ricky's shoulder, perhaps a little more forceful than needed. "Now, I don't know how frequent we can do these kinda dates, but…"

"…we'll work it out," Ricky finished the lingering thought meekly. "Somehow."

They each nodded in agreement and shared a thoughtful silence before Quera spoke up, "_Well… I'd better go soon. We have a lot of explaining to do with the guardians._"

"Eesh. Good luck, babe!"

"_I'll try—o-oh!_" She was shoved back a bit, and Vera and Hera's heads popped into frame.

"_Wait, wait! Before you go…_" Vera cocked her monobrow. "_Eaglebones, was it?_"

Ricky could feel his bandmate tense up beside him, face quickly souring into a guarded glare. "…Yeah?"

"_We wanted to thank you…for being such a good sport!_" Hera giggled, leaning forward and leaving a lipstick print on the webcam's screen. Eaglebones leaned back, expression shifting to confused and slightly disturbed.

"_Yes! You were quite fun, AND managed to help us give our sister her space,_" Vera explained further, and a dawning look of understanding came to him. "_We hope to see the BOTH of you again very soon~!_"

"Uh… s-sure." Eaglebones made sure to back away out of screen before things got weird, and the two sisters followed suit. Ricky and Quera gazed at each other one last time for the night, touching their fingers each to the screen.

"_Bye Ricky… I love you._"

"Love you too, Quera."

Her face then flickered away, leaving the generic loading screen in her wake. Ricky sighed, closing the laptop and setting it aside, and went limp where he sat on the couch, the day's events finally catching up with him physically.

When the silence got too thick, Eaglebones jokingly snorted, "Great, now the _other_ two heads are falling for me. Look what you dragged me into, Ricky."

The younger Aquabat shook his head, quickly catching on, thin lips trembling and trying not to grin.

"And here I thought _you_ were the irresistible one but maaaaan now I dunno—ow, ahaha!" He laughed at the playful punch to his arm, nudging Ricky back until he finally grinned, and they shared a brief tussle on the couch before collapsing again.

"…You still owe me big time."

"No kidding," Ricky chuckled, trailing off quickly when the guilt hit again. "Man, Eaglebones, I'm sorry too…"

"Agh, don't sweat it." he waved it off, sinking into the couch's cushion comfortably with his hands behind his head. "I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to it. I'm just glad we got out relatively in one—"

He blinked at the warm embrace around his middle. "—piece?"

"And… thanks. Thanks so much," Ricky softly muttered.

"Heh." Eaglebones ventured a pat on his back. "Dude, no problem. That's what pals do."


	6. Veggie Lovers Maximum

_"Ordering pizza is easy, Crash! Just go call up Luigi's, ask for the Party People Pizza, and tell 'em where the Tram's parked."_

_"Really...? That's it?"_

_"Yeah! I mean, _I_ would order it myself, but well... _some_one has to defeat the Snakeazoid Queen."_

_"Oh... okay! I can do this, Commander!"_

The boost of confidence Crash had built up was dashed the moment he approached the telephone. He had been so ready to tackle the task—he even wrote down the number and order so he wouldn't forget—but now he was staring at the phone on the table as if it were a coiled-up rattlesnake ready to strike.

"Crash? You okay, buddy?"

He jumped, not even noticing when his bandmate had entered the room until he was standing right beside him. "_Geez_, Ricky, don't scare me like that…!"

"Heh, sorry!" Ricky chuckled, examining the scene curiously. "Whatcha doing?"

"Uhhhhh—" Blanking out, Crash fumbled with his notes slip and finally replied, "I'm ordering a pizza!"

"Is that all? Dude, I can take care of that for you—"

"N-no, don't!" Ricky recoiled a bit when Crash slapped his hand away from the phone. "I told the Commander I could do this, and I will!"

At the drummer's skeptical look, Crash deflated. "…eventually."

"Hey, man…" Ricky gave an encouraging pat to his shoulder, taking the receiver into hand and offering it to his friend. "You can _totally_ do this. And I can stick by your side for morale support!"

As he nervously took it and held it to his chest, Crash gave out a small gasp. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course! That's what buddies do! Now, start by dialing the number…"

With a fraction of his confidence returning, Crash nodded eagerly. Consulting his notes several times over, he was endlessly pleased with himself when he dialed it correctly the first time.

"_Luigi's Pizzeria~!_"

At a cute girl's voice, Crash sat up rigidly. "H-hi!" he squealed and grinned tensely, blinking. "… Uhhhhhh." He snatched up his notes again and read them carefully. "I'd like, um, the Party People Pizza, please!"

"_Alrighty! What toppings?_"

Crash blanched.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh—"

"What? What'd they say?"

"H-huh-hang on-!" He snapped away and covered the receiver, shooting Ricky a terrified look and whispering harshly, "She's asking about _toppings!_"

"She...?"

"_Ricky!_"

"S-sorry. Did the Commander mention any toppings?"

"No!"

Ricky gave this some careful consideration, a calculating grin spreading across his face.

"Okay." He leaned over and met a hunched-over Crash at eye level. "Don't sweat it, I got a perfect list. Just repeat what I say back to her, okay?"

"Oh… okay!"

"Cheese…"

"Um, cheese…"

"Garlic…"

"Garlic…"

"Portobello mushrooms…"

"Portable mushrooms…"

"Avocado…"

Excitement in the BattleTram reached an all-time high as the three-foot square pizza box was delivered and dragged through the back door into Central Command. However, Eaglebones was first to notice the peculiar smell wafting from the box, and when they threw the box top open, their excitement dropped like a lead weight.

For in front of them sat a pizza that had more greens piled on top than a farmer's market.

The Aquabats could only stare at the presentation. Crash grew nervous, glancing around at the others; Ricky still maintained his exhilaration, quietly hopping in place, Jimmy was confused yet intrigued by the foreign sight, Eaglebones looked almost impressed if not incredibly perplexed, and the Commander was in a delicate state between bewilderment and devastation.

He did his best to remain calm, however, clearing his throat uneasily. "Uh, C-Crash? What… what am I looking at here?"

"… the lady called it a 'Veggie Lovers Maximum,'" the bassist replied meekly. "Y'know like… bigger than a Supreme. Y-yeah."

It wasn't long before each band member, one by one, cast suspicious glances towards the youngest 'Bat.

"…What!?"

"Oh, come _on_, Ricky," Eaglebones rolled his eyes. "How _else_ would Crash have ordered a Veggie Lovers Maximum?"

"W-well… you guys need to eat more healthy veggies anyway!"

"So you decided," the Commander spoke with mounting anger. "…that it was perfectly okay to get a _month's serving_ of veggies dumped on top of our pizza?!"

"Psht, I would _not_ call that a month's serving. Maybe a day or two, but not a whole month."

As the Commander seethed, the robot beside him inspected the pizza as he would a specimen in his lab. "I wasn't aware you could even _put_ half of these vegetables on a pizza… broccoli, eggplant, alfalfa sprouts…!"

"You're not _supposed_ to! Pizza's already a vegetable on its own, you don't need extra!" the Commander ranted. "This pizza's been _tainted!_"

Eaglebones was about to agree, plugging his nose to block out the clashing smells, but then he spotted Crash across the table, looking terribly crestfallen that he'd let everyone down. The guitarist bit his lip and said nothing.

"Now, now, Commander, how are we to know that it's as horrible as you say it is before we even try it?"

"Robot, this is a serious crisis, now is _not_ the time for jokes!"

"But Commanderrrrrrr…!"

Crash kept quiet as they all argued, but as his gaze wandered over the pizz, it grew from downtrodden to inquisitive. Eaglebones watched him poke at and scrutinize a slice, wondering if he seriously considering it.

"Guys, it'll be great! Give it a try, you won't be disappointed, I promise!"

"No way! No how! I'm throwing this out and ordering a proper pizza!"

"Commander! That's just plain wasteful!"

"Well, unless you can locate a _nearby sheep farm_—"

Before he could launch into full-blown hysterics, a small gasp derailed the fight. "Oh whoa."

The each glanced as one unit at Eaglebones, then followed his gaze and witnessed Crash dive into a first, big bite of the slice he was struggling to keep from falling apart. As he chewed contemplatively, the team leaned forward in anticipation; half of them expected him to keel over as if poisoned.

But then, past a mouthful of greens and crust… "…it'fsh nah haff bad!"

They stared at him with various levels of shock. "Wait, for real?" Eaglebones ventured.

"Yeah! Like…" he swallowed. "I guess the veggies on their own are gross, but when you mix 'em all together…" Suddenly realizing his hunger, Crash took a bigger, eager bite, already reaching into the box for a second helping.

Totally flabbergasted, the Commander did a double take, then, "H-hey, don't go eating it all-!"

Four more pairs of hands attacked the dish, lifting slices and scooting toppings around into proper eating arrangements; a challenge all on its own with humorous results. A room once filled with to burst with tension was now alit with light chatter of a meal turned social event of discovery.

"Ommnommmfh…!"

"Mmm… what an interesting blend of flavor!"

"Man, what'd I tell you guys?! Here, trying dipping it in ranch!"

"Ohhhhhh _man_ that's good!"

"Ewwww, Bones, you're gettin' your hair in it!"

"Pwahahaha, when's _that_ ever stopped him before?"

By the time they had all hit their third slice, it was agreed that this was a huge hit. Ricky felt an enormous sense of satisfaction as the Commander draped an arm over his shoulder.

"Welp," he took an aside to belch, then continued. "I definitely ate my words there…"

"Not to mention half the pizza," Jimmy chimed in jokingly, laughing at the weak slap at his arm.

"Whatever! Good call, Ricky."

But the drummer raised his hands and shook his head. "Don't look at me! Crash ordered it!"

Crash glanced up quizzically, half a slice submerged in his sharp teeth.

"Hey, that's right, he did! Good going, Crash!" the Commander praised. Ricky threw him a thumbs-up and a wink, Jimmy added a 'hear hear!', and Eaglebones lifted his serving in concurrence, cheeks full and splattered with ranch dressing.

Crash beamed hugely, slurping up the rest of his helping and punctuating it with a hefty, enthusiastic _BURP_.


	7. Strengths and Weaknesses

"_Aquabats, fall back! Go go GO GO GO GO-!_"

The team piled into the BattleTram one by one, ragged and battle-torn from the fight they had just retreated from. This latest foe was one tough customer, but the battle was far from over.

Slamming the door behind him, the Commander was quick to belt out orders. "Alright, we've got their attention, let's get them away from all the bystanders before we finish 'em off! Ricky, get behind the wheel and lead them out of the city!"

"I'm on it!"

"Crash, you're manning the missiles! When I give you the signal, blast those toadies to kingdom come!"

"_Roger victor vector copy that over!_"

"And Jimmy-!" The Commander faltered as the robot, who was already on his way down the opposite hall, halted and half-turned, revealing an injured Eaglebones curled up tightly in his arms, trembling and pressing his face into Jimmy's chest to muffle all utterances of pain.

"…Right! Go help Eaglebones."

Even as the battle raged on, the tire screeches and explosions outside where dulled deep in the sanctity of Jimmy's lab. The robot was quick and efficient, too often used to converting his workspace into a medical response room. Especially for their guitarist.

After pulling the examination bed out into the middle of the room, Jimmy eased Eaglebones down, curling him away from his chest as gently as he could. There was no way to fully prevent moans of agony, as any and all movement agitated his wounded arm, bent in all the wrong places and swollen under the tattered lycra. Eaglebones was left reeling in mind-numbing pain, teeth gritted and grinding as he aggressively tried to suppress any groans or gripes or other shows of weakness.

It was something that honestly baffled Jimmy, how the most physically fragile member of their team tried so hard to put on a strong face. It was admirable, but unreasonable. Still, he said nothing, more concerned with treating the injury as he bustled around his lab.

He paused when a slight, pitiful whine managed to escape the guitarist. "Hang in there, Eaglebones," he called out reassuringly, shuffling through drawers for proper bandages.

"UrrghI'm _fine_-!" he growled out, clearly far from fine but quick to deny it. "I told you, I'm used to this kinda—_hh!_ Unnghh…!"

Jimmy shook his head, approaching the bedside with his supplies and a disapproving frown. "Broken bones are never something you 'get used to,' no matter how often it occurs. We've had this conversation countless times."

Eaglebones let out a pained, frustrated laugh. "Yeah, great, tell that to everyone else! 'Oh, look, Bonesy broke his leg _again!_ Just walk it off, buddy'—(gasp!) Hhhhnnnn..."

He remained stiff for a moment, then gradually relaxed as the cooling burn of a fresh ice pack started to numb the pain down. Holding the pack to the injury, Jimmy watched his bandmate carefully, noticing cues here and there as he eased in tension until he sprawled out weakly, one leg dangling over the edge and the other arm coming up to cover his sweating brow as he panted faintly.

Once he had calmed down, Jimmy finally ventured, "Is something upsetting you, Eaglebones?"

The only acknowledgement he gave was pursed lips.

"You know your condition is nothing to be ashamed of," the robot continued, pulling the pack away and examining the fracture with x-ray vision. "And you also know I would never judge you no matter how you responded to the tremendous amount of pain you're in, right?"

Eaglebones scoffed. "Geez, Jimmy, it's not even _about_ the pain." He lolled his head to the side and threw up his arm in aggravation. "The others are up there risking their necks and I'm stuck in here!"

Jimmy paused, honestly not expecting that answer. "…You feel useless." It was a revelation, not a question.

And it _hurt_, that showed plain as day as Eaglebones flinched. He turned a defensive glare towards the robot, eyes wide and glistening. "Well heck, wouldn't you if you went down in one hit?! When you try your darned hardest to help and you keep getting knocked down and—!"

**_CRACK!_**

Eaglebones screamed. He didn't have a chance to hold it back; without warning, Jimmy had begun setting the bones to heal, snapping them back into place.

"I'm sorry, Eaglebones," he muttered, not at all pleased with the measures he had to take. "Your arm needs to heal properly and we're a bit short on time, here."

It was standard procedure by now. The robot was the only one who could stomach it, so this exchange between the two of them happened frequently. But this was the first time Jimmy had seen tears streak down his face, even at this point.

He calculated which factors in the conversation were different, and he quickly understood. He then withdrew his cold metallic hands, allowing Eaglebones a moment to choke out a few open sobs while he prepped the bandages.

"Eaglebones…" he began softly, choosing his words carefully as he began wrapping the angry red limb. "It matters not how often you get knocked down. What matters is whether you keep getting back up."

The guitarist went quiet, slowly turning his wide teary eyes back as Jimmy continued. "We wouldn't have taken you into our family if we thought you were useless. None of us are. We all depend on each other, through both our strongest and weakest points. Sit up, please."

Eaglebones gave no protest, shakily propping up with Jimmy's help, and the robot began fastening a quick sling. "The strength you lack physically you more than make up for in your passion, courage, and will. Even _if_ sometimes you get a little arrogant, you still fiercely protect each and every one of us."

Eventually, Eaglebones dragged his meek gaze up to meet Jimmy's comforting smile. "Don't let your weaknesses gloss over your strengths. Revel in the victories, and face the losses with a grimace, then keep moving forward. If you maintain that, at least, you'll never be useless to us. Ever."

Eaglebones managed a watery grin before a last few extravagant explosions went off, followed by a series of cheers.

Jimmy beamed. "Speaking of victories…!"

The rest of the team tore into Jimmy's lab, relaying the good news through whoops and hollers and high fives and celebratory jigs. Jimmy shared in their raucous joy, then stepped back as they eagerly swarmed their injured bandmate.

"Yo, Eaglebones! How you holding up, buddy?"

"I—f-fine! I'm good, Commander!"

"You sure, man? I heard this big ol' scream, woulda rushed over to help if I wasn't driving!"

"Heh, yeah… sorry for worrying you, Ricky."

"Can I sign your cast?"

"Crash, I don't _have_ a cast, it'll heal by tomorrow."

"Then I'll sign the sling! Here, lemme go get my markers~!"

Within the whirlwind of excitement and celebration, Eaglebones met Jimmy's serene gaze again. The sentiment in his huge, crooked grin expressed more gratitude than words ever could.


	8. Soup

Ricky bustled through the kitchen, doing his best to make his home remedy soup as quickly as he could. Throwing in the noodles and chicken (along with a sprinkle of fresh veggies) and bringing it to a boil, he then served it up in a big bowl, carefully taking it into hand and hurrying down the hall to deliver it.

"Commander! I finished the soup for Crash—" He stopped at the doorway to the bedroom, glancing up in shock. "Oh, whoa."

Above, Jimmy was tending to a large hole in the ceiling, hammering and welding salvageable debris back into place. Directly below him, the Commander was handing him tools (not to mention offering commentary on the robot's handiwork), and at the bottom, Eaglebones was holding the old ladder steady, with considerable difficulty given their combined weight.

Incredibly, Ricky asked, "What happened?"

The Commander turned away after taking a hammer from Jimmy, precariously gesturing with it. "Crash's cold is starting to affect his powers. Big guy let out a huge sneeze and—" He gracelessly lost his grip on the heavy tool, watching it clatter to the floor noisily and snickering at a startled Eaglebones yelping and leaping back. He completely ignored the indignant glare, throwing up his now-free hand in exasperation. "—broke the roof."

Ricky frowned. "Awww man, poor Crash… where is he?"

"We sent him outside with lotsa blankets—Eaglebones, grab that hammer, will ya?" He regarded the unbelieving stare expectantly; a non-verbal battle followed, where Eaglebones aggressively motioned to the ladder he was clearly holding at bay, while the Commander waved off the silent protest and gestured to the hammer insistently. Groaning, the guitarist made attempts to reach for it, stretching over and prodding it with his foot. The ladder shook between his motions, and Jimmy grew increasingly concerned.

"H-hold on everyone!" He commanded attention of the room. "Ricky, I could use your help with the repairs. Commander, why don't you go take Crash his soup?"

"Wha—why me?"

"I think he would really appreciate it."

"… oyyyyyyy-kay, _fine_." With a put-upon grimace, the Commander hopped off the ladder and traded off with Ricky, who then gripped the ladder and kindly handed Eaglebones the toolbox, relieving him greatly. As they resumed, the Commander marched down the hall, soup in hand.

Exiting through the side door, he stepped out into the perimeters of a forest they had parked the BattleTram at for the night. The area was bathed in the ochre glow of dusk, and the truck stop traffic lights were beginning to flicker on. Good thing, too—leaving their sickly friend out in the dark would've been just plain cruel.

"Crash?" the Commander called out. "Buddy? Where you at?"

He wandered over to where they last left the bassist, curled up on a nearby patch of grass. But all he found was an empty pile of blankets.

His gut dropped in terror for the briefest of moments before the pile shifted, giving off a light shudder. There then squeaked out a tiny sneeze, and the blankets erupted and scattered; Crash, now normal-sized, scrambled to grab at them and tug them close, shaking like a leaf.

"Ohhh, _there_ you are!" the Commander chortled in relief. "How you holdin' up, pal?"

Crash took in a thick sniffle through a stuffed nose and pathetically moaned, "Nuh much bedder."

"Yeesh, I can see that." The singer bit his lip; man, as hard as it was to admit, he hated seeing his dear ol' friend like this. "But, hey! Ricky made you some hearty soup, maybe that'll do the trick—"

"Aaah…!" The Commander's forced grin dropped when Crash tensed up, his face contorting all too familiarly. "_Aaaaaah…!_" Wisely, he took a few steps back and braced himself—

"**_ACHOO!_**" Sure enough, with that powerful sneeze, Crash rocketed up into a greater size, about twice the height of the BattleTram. The blankets draped over his head and shoulders uselessly, and with a whimper, he curled inwardly and shivered in the chilled cross breeze.

"Aw, geez…" Though knowing it would do little good, the Commander rubbed a giant knee sympathetically. "I'm just gonna, go ahead and—" He bent down to pace the soup bowl on the pavement next to the grass. "—leave this here for when you go back down to normal size…"

"C-Cuh-Commander?"

He craned his neck up at that mighty, yet somehow still meek voice. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorreh for breaking deh BattleTram," Crash snuffled.

"What—nooooo, haha, no no-!" He waved him off extravagantly with uneasy laughter. "Don't, don't even worry about it! The guys are patching up the hole right now! The bedroom needed some remodeling anyways."

Crash burbled out a few chuckles of his own, but quickly descended into a hacking fit. Each cough that wracked through his body made him shrink, shrink, shrink, grow again, shrink, and shrink back to his normal size.

"Heyyyy, lookat that!" The Commander cheered, quickly crouching down to his level and sweeping up the bowl. "Time to get your soup on, bro!"

The ill bassist gave out a weaker cheer with accompanying fistpumps in response, though eagerly took the bowl into hand and slurped away at it. His leader stayed by his side, in case he needed help at any point, which he in fact did when his hands got too shaky.

As the Commander raised the bowl up for him, he noted the downtrodden look he wore and sought to busy him with conversation. "Man, I didn't even know you _could_ shrink. Just grow."

"Me needur," Crash replied, wiping his lips. "Dis cold's weird."

"Tell me about it." He drew it back to find it empty. "Whoa, you scarfed that right down! Did it help any?"

"Mm…" Squinting a pained expression, Crash still nodded. "Yeah. Lil' bit."

"Awesome." Patting his big shoulder, the Commander started getting to his feet. "Welp, best you can do now is get your rest, so I'll just leave you to it—"

"Cuhmmander… please stay."

He got to halfway bent up before he froze at that soft plea.

"It's cold an' lonely out here… an' I think dere's bears in deh woods."

The Commander softly grinned to himself at that notion, turning right back around and settling on the ground in front of Crash once again. "Well, if there are any, I'll give 'em the ol' one-two to the snout." Encouraged by the big guy's comforted smile, he gripped his shoulder. "So you just focus on resting. I'll stick around and scare all the baddies off. Okay?"

"Okay—ay—ah-! Ahhhh_ACHoo!_" The Commander pulled back just as Crash sneezed and popped into a miniature size, hovering in the air for a second before plopping into and disappearing in the blankets.


End file.
